Composite hockey-stick blades typically are constructed by wrapping fiber-reinforced plies over one or more core elements to create a hockey-stick blade pre-form. The blade pre-form is then placed within an external mold where resin, which is either pre-impregnated in the fiber plies or added via a resin-transfer process, is cured. An expansion bladder within the blade pre-form, or one or more heat-expanding core elements, may be used to provide internal pressure to mold the blade into the shape of the external mold. The curing process hardens the resin so that the fibers become disposed within a hardened resin matrix, while the mold defines the exterior shape of the cured blade (which sometimes is integrally molded with a hockey-stick shaft).
Composite hockey stick shafts are commonly offered in varying degrees of stiffness or in various “flexes” to meet the needs of players with different abilities and skill sets. Depending on the height, weight, or strength of a given player, for example, the player may choose a relatively stiff shaft or a more flexible shaft to enhance his or her shot-making or stick-handling skills. The stiffness properties of the blades used with these various shafts, however, do not vary. Rather, blades with identical stiffness properties are commonly used on a variety of shafts having different stiffness properties.